Frustration
by BacktoBachus
Summary: Frustration: a move that gains more power the worse a Pokemon's relationship with their trainer is. On paper it seems like a good move to have in a competitive setting, but what is the real cost? (Trigger Warning, references to animal abuse)
1. Chapter 1

Westley carefully crept through the underbrush, tracking his target with his trusty Houndoom Gage at his side. He had been crawling all over Reversal Mountain trying to catch Chimchars for Professor Rowan. He had finally met his quota, and now it was time to try and get a new member for his team. This one last Chimchar had been following him for most of his trip on the mountain stealing his berry stash, and he knew this little trickster was going to be the Pokemon they left Sinnoh with. He slowly moved towards the rock the little monster was perched on, waving Gage forward to-  
"Use Frustration!"  
"What the hell?" Westley's head whipped to the side in time to see a Lopunny come flying out of nowhere towards the Chimchar. The monkey gave a quick screech before leaping onto Westley's shoulder and pushing off to disappear.  
"Dammit! You let him get away!" The other trainer said, stomping over.  
"Sorry, I didn't realize you were tracking him too."  
"Not you, the Pokemon. What's wrong with you? You had one job!" The trainer continued to shout at the poor Lopunny who cringed and tried to scamper away, but the trainer wouldn't let her. They finally thrust a pokeball at her, nearly pushing her over before she disappeared in a flash of red light. "Stupid thing can't even get an attack off. I knew I should have traded it away."  
"Hey, what the hell? You can't treat your Pokemon like that!"  
"Who do you think you are? You don't tell me how I train my team. I needed a fire type to round out my team, and the fighting coverage would help when I go after the Heatran people have been seeing around the mountain."  
"And that makes it okay to scream at them just for missing an attack?" Westley said, getting more heated himself as he advanced on the other trainer.  
"It was a first form Pokemon, and I was using one that already evolved. They should be a way higher level!" they replied, gesturing towards the rock wildly. "There's no excuse for missing that attack."  
"Oh please, the only people who care about 'levels' are gyms and testers." Westley said, spitting out the word like a curse. "They're just extrapolated numbers that don't have any meaning outside of trying to brag about your standing."  
"What's the point of catching and training Pokemon if you're not going to get badges?" they shouted incredulously.  
"Whatever, people like you don't deserve Pokemon." Westley started to walk away, whistling for Gage who came bounding over from where he was positioned earlier.  
"Hey wait! I'll trade you!"  
"Trade me what?"  
"I'll trade for your Houndoom. I still need a fire type, and it's already evolved. I won't need to spend nearly as much time training it before I try and catch the Heatran. What do you want for it?"  
"My Pokemon aren't for sale." Westley pushed past the trainer who quickly grabbed his arm, heedless of the growls rumbling from Gage.  
"Then I'll battle you for him. I win, you give me your Houndoom." He said with determined glint in his eye.  
"... And if I win?" Westley said slowly, "If I win, you release your Lopunny to me. One on one, no potions no switching."  
"Deal!" They said hurriedly before taking several steps away. They pulled out a pokedex, checking the stats on the rest of their team, occasionally checking the entry for Houndoom as well. Finally they pick a ball and throw it out into the clearing between them. "Alright Empoleon, I choose you!"

The penguin lets out a cry while Gage slowly walks ahead. Westley reaches under his collar and pulls out a chain with a glowing stone set in it. With a flash of light Gage mega evolves and lets out a howl, stretching in the harsh sunlight beating down on the mountain.  
"Whoa is that mega evolution? I heard about those!" they should excitedly.

"Don't worry about it, you won't see it for long." Westley says as he glares at the other trainer.  
"Oh, does it have a time limit?"  
"Nope."

"Alright then, I'll start Empoleon, use-"  
"Blast and Burn Gage!" Westley interrupts. Gage rears up and blasts the Empoleon with a solar beam before dashing closer while breathing out a flame thrower.  
"Alright not bad, using the steel weakness, but water still resists and you're still weak. Empoleon use aqua jet!" The Empoleon rockets forward with a rush of water intent on slamming into Gage.  
"Quick combo!" Unfortunately before it can close the distance Gage disappears from using extreme speed and slams into the Empoleon's side, before belching out another torrent of dark flame from its belly.  
"Hey how did you do tha-?"  
"Blast back!" Gage lets off a dark pulse that sends the Empoleon staggering back even more before firing another solar beam. When the light fades the penguin is unconscious and Gage is now in his normal form.  
"Holy, dude that was crazy! How are you not a league champ already?"  
"There's more to raising Pokemon than just battling and leagues. Now let that poor Lopunny go."  
The trainer looks confused before they return Empoleon back to their ball and send out Lopunny. They use the ball to release the Pokemon and pocket it again. "Good battle man."  
"Just go, I don't have anything else to say to you." Westley says before hunkering down to pull out a super potion and a handful of berries. The trainer starts to say something before they turn around and walk off muttering to themselves. Westley holds out an oran berry towards the Lopunny who seems confused. "Hey sweetheart, come here so I can get you looked at."

She looks at him warily before slowly creeping forward to snatch the berry. Westley keeps doling them out until she feels comfortable enough to let him use the potion on her paw. "I'm sorry you had to deal with them sweetheart, how about you come with me yeah?" Westley carefully pulls out a pokeball and holds it out. "Come on, lets get you checked out." The Lopunny looks at him carefully before she taps the ball. Westley presses the button and she gets engulfed in red light that gets sealed in the ball. Westley gets to his feet and tucks the ball onto his belt before whistling for Gage. "Let's start heading back bud, we need to get these Chimchars to the professor." Normal types weren't usually his style, but Westley was pretty happy taking the Lopunny home with them, it seemed like she could use some love.


	2. Chapter 2

Westley was never one for flying and very few flying types had ever caught his eye either. He preferred to take the heel toe express so he could properly enjoy the nature around him, and more importantly the Pokemon. He could have gotten a bike to travel faster, but he never had an issue with camping at night. So, once he got off the mountain closer to the wooded areas of the island, he found a good spot to hunker down for the night. The important thing about camping near wild Pokemon is to be prepared. He had a habit of circling his campsite with a thin rope soaked with a repelling solution to keep stray wild Pokemon away. Then he might dig a small fire pit and get things ready for dinner before slaying out a tarp to put his sleeping bag on. This part of the island rarely had rain this time of year, so he didn't feel the need to set up his tent. There was only one step left before he could start relaxing.

Four flashes of red light filled his camp and his team appeared. He had a habit of only keeping one Pokemon from each region to raise. It didn't feel right to catch every 'mon that he laid eyes on, only to send them off to a PC box or a ranch never to see him again. This left Lopunny as an oddity. Once upon a time he had dreams of becoming a gym leader, and he always planned to raise fire types, meaning the little bunny was a bit out of place surrounded by his Arcanine, Ninetales, and Houndoom. He asked Nyla to start the fire, and she leaned down to breathe some embers onto the wood he had piled into the pit.

"Alright guys, soups on the fire, who wants to go first." Westley pulls out a brush and brandishes it at the group. Gage simply rolls over and lets out a puff of smoke while his Arcanine name Mouse immediately drops down on his front paws ready to play, while Nyla seemed more interested in the simmering food. "Alright, come here bud."

What followed was less grooming and more a wrestling match between a poor trainer and a rowdy Arcanine. By the time Mouse settled down he had more brush and dirt in his coat than when he started. Westley carefully dragged the brush through his fluffy white hair, trying to keep it from getting matted, but once he was done Mouse immediately rolled onto the ground to scratch his back and grind more dirt into it.

"Or you could do that, sure. There's no reasoning with you is there?" He gave a chuckle and dragged the brush against his pants to clean it out before sitting down. Nyla immediately proceeded to walk over his lap, making him sputter and spit out bits of fur before she turned around and sat, leaving her tails in his lap.

"Oh, I suppose it's your turn now 'your majesty.'" he said with a mock bow. He carefully brushed each of her tails slowly moving from the base to the tip, while keeping an eye on the soup. Only once he had finished all nine did Nyla allow him to get out from under the mass of fur. Lastly he moved to Gage with a stiffer wire brush, scrubbing his horns and plate to get off the muck that had gotten onto them from the battle and travel through the woods. Finally he sat down in the middle cross legged with his brushes and combs in his lap. "Your turn Sweetheart, can I clean out your coat?"

He sat patiently, and waited for her to come to him. She seemed a bit nervous around the rowdy Mouse, and Westley had to quietly admonish him to settle down. Eventually she slowly creeped up to him, skittering back when he started to lift up the brush, but she slowly got close enough that he could have her sit down so he could brush out her fur. He first took a soft brush and cleaned out her brown coat, occasionally pulling out a potion bottle to spray areas that made her flinch or whimper.

"I'm sorry, don't worry when we get into town our first stop is a Pokemon center." Once finished, he got to the more difficult task of cleaning out her lighter plush coat. The poor thing obviously never had a chance to groom herself, likely only coming out of her ball or a PC box to battle and little else. Her coat was matted and he wouldn't be able to brush them out. He slowly reached into his backpack and pulled out a small pair of scissors.

"I need to cut these out Sweetheart. Can you stay still for me?" He very carefully trimmed away the mats and brushed out the light fur with a bit of dry shampoo until it was clean and fluffy. "Perfect, you did such a good job Sweetheart, now let's eat."

Five bowls were dished out of the soup, mostly comprised of formerly dried vegetables and some small bits of shredded meat. Each of the fire types got some poffins mixed in designed to help their fire production, and Sweetheart got some extra to help with her nutrition. Westley just took his with a dash of salt and pepper, focusing more on the warmth than the taste. The dishes were scrubbed clean in a nearby stream and packed away before he finally started to settle down. Once his chores were done he pulled his sleeping bag over and leaned back against Mouse, who was lounging on the tarp trying to take up as much space as possible, and pulled out a harmonica.

He played whatever came to mind before finally settling on a tune he remembered from visiting his grandfather in agate village back home. Gage shuffled up next to him, perhaps reminded of his old trainer and closed his eyes. Eventually Nyla also approached, draping her tails over Westley before snuggling closer to Mouse. This only left Sweetheart, who stayed on her own for a while until Westley changed to a softer song that reminded him of the forest and the old stone pillar his grandfather used to take him to when he visited. When he finished and tucked the harmonica away he began to drift to sleep, but felt her slip into the warm pile as well.

"Goodnight guys, see you in the morning."


End file.
